Sunblock and a Pink Rubber Chicken
by Thalia Kendall
Summary: A Percy/Hermione one-shot of flufftacular proportions! Percy is left at the beach by his family with an injunction to "unwind". Now, that would take a little effort...but Hermione is nothing if not smart and resourceful...


W00t! This Percy/Hermione one-shot hatched from a happy conversation I had with Kala… who is awesome, by the way…

Disclaimers apply. As much as I'd like to own the wet!growling!swim-trunks!Percy, he's not mine, and if I ever tried to make him mine, I would probably be sued exorbitant amounts of money, and mobbed by a horde of angry fangirls.

~~~   
  
Blue water rippling gently in the cool salt breeze. White sand sparkling in the sunlight. Beautiful, buxom women in brief bathing suits sunbathing and swimming. Most men would give an arm and leg to be in his position, but Percy Weasley was sitting under a large beach umbrella, still dressed in Muggle jeans and a white shirt, scowling rather unhappily. He held in his hands a rather incongruous rubber chicken in a lurid shade of pink.   
  
His family was in France for the summer. His oldest brother Bill had recently married a French girl named Fleur, and the girl had invited the entire Weasley clan over to her family's estate for the summer.   
  
He, of course, had been quite excited at first. All the different historically significant spots to see! But after a short time talking about the difference between French Gothic and Polish Gothic styles in architecture as he remembered from Muggle Studies, his family had decided that today, he would be left alone at a Muggle beach to "unwind".   
  
Of course, they had frog-marched him to the location, and promised him, with many a wide smile, that they would come for him in the afternoon. As soon as they had left, he had gone into a bathroom stall and taken out his wand, in order to Disapparate from the place. Unfortunately for the hapless former Head Boy of Hogwarts, his wand had been switched with one of Fred and George's creations, and had turned into a shocking pink rubber chicken.   
  
And so, here he was, sitting under an umbrella, frowning unhappily, with nothing to do at all, holding the damned chicken.   
  
He was so busy mentally composing the tirade that he would launch at those twins as soon as they made another appearance that he didn't notice the girl until she was standing in front of him.   
  
Then, he gave a start as a pair of bare, slim, tanned legs appeared in front of his vision. His mouth went slightly dry as his eyes traveled up the legs to a pair of khaki shorts and a white tank top, and then, a very familiar face.   
  
"H-Hermione?"   
  
"Hey, Percy! What are you doing here?" Hermione greeted him with a smile. Percy noticed rather belatedly that she was holding a small duffel bag in her hand and a towel.   
  
"Fleur's family invited us over for the summer. My parents, brothers and Ginny decided that they wanted to leave me here to 'relax'..." Percy scowled again, "Shocking, really. I'm really missing out on a learning opportunity of a lifetime! They even took away my wand." gesturing the rubber chicken in his hand.   
  
Hermione grinned to herself, and sat down next to him, "I'm sorry to hear that. But... mind if I join you? It's nice to see a familiar face here."   
  
"Sure," Percy agreed. At least he would have someone to talk to. Hermione was smart, at least he would get the chance for some intelligent conversation.   
  
"But...you're not in a bathing suit! What is the point of going to a beach if you're not in a bathing suit?"   
  
Percy sputtered, "B-but...you mean...like those people?" He gestured the muggle men in swim trunks lounging around. Hermione nodded emphatically.   
  
"Well, you're at a beach, you might as well try to enjoy it," she cajoled him, "Come on, go and change into a bathing suit. I'll sunblock you when you've finished."   
  
Percy refrained from asking her what "sunblock" was. He also stayed put. Hermione wrinkled her nose playfully at him.   
  
"If it will make you feel any better, I will go and change as well. Come on...please?"   
  
It was quite clear from her tone that she would not leave him be until she got his obedience. He sighed, and walked towards the men's room again.   
  
Several minutes later, he walked out, a towel wrapped around him tightly as a candy wrapper. Hermione, on the other hand, was waiting for him at the umbrella, now dressed in a red one-piece. She was smearing something white and creamy-looking onto her legs. She smiled when he approached.   
  
"All right, I'm nearly finished putting on the sunblock. All except my back. Would you please help me?"   
  
He blinked. She squeezed a bottle over his palm, and more of the creamy substance squirted out, cool against his hand. "Rub it onto my back, please." She tossed her hair aside, and exposed a smooth, lightly tanned back to him. He bit his lip. This...was....   
  
But he obliged, gently rubbing the cream onto her back, making a conscious effort not to come too close to her. She had soft skin...very soft, smooth skin... He blushed at that unbidden, undisciplined, un-Percy-like thought.   
  
She turned around quickly, grinning at him. "Oh dear, you're turning red already, I had better sunblock you as well."   
  
Before he knew what was happening, he found himself lying on his stomach on his towel, stretched out full-length, Hermione straddling his waist, her small, nimble hands rubbing something cool and creamy onto his back in a half-massaging, half-caressing motion. "You're so tense, Perce. No wonder they're making you take a day off here at the beach."   
  
All right...this...needed...to...stop...... Not because it did not feel good. It did. Too good. There was something inherently WRONG with feeling this good when the 17-year-old best friend of his kid brother was touching his back. She was really good at this. Too good. This was...uncomfortable. He swallowed hard.   
  
Hermione, still kneading his shoulders gently, looked at him. His ears and cheeks were tinged with red, and his skin was rather warm. He must not be used to this. But there was nothing wrong with it. And he DID need to relax. She looked at the toned, lightly freckled arms, and felt the slim but firm back under her hands. Who knew that Perfect Prefect Percy was quite...fit? If he would just relax and smile that warm Weasley smile, he could be quite the heartbreaker.   
  
"I'm done, you can turn over right now."   
  
Slowly, he turned over, and to his surprise, that little "sunblock" session had dissipated most of his irate mood. He was starting to understand his father's fascination with Muggle things...and muggleborn witches...He smiled at her, and to his surprise, she blushed faintly.   
  
The curly-headed Muggleborn witch had somehow wrapped him around those talented, cool fingers. In a short time, he found himself in the water, laughing like he had not laughed for a long time, as he engaged her in a splashing war. She sent a wave of water at him with her hand, and caught him across the face, knocking his glasses slightly askew.   
  
He sputtered, coughed and narrowed his eyes, then readjusted the horn-rimmed glasses, "Ooh, I'll get you for that!" She gave a tiny shriek and dove underwater. He waded over to where she was and grabbed her arm, pulling her up. With his other hand, he splashed her, plastering half of her hair to her head. She flailed her arms, trying to free her wrist from his grip, but he was surprisingly strong. And...he was looking down at her, water dripping down his chest and his wet hair a dark, coppery auburn, glossy with water. And he was smiling. Really smiling, ear-to-ear. She had never seen him smiling like that before, and somehow, the thought that she had been able to coax that smile out upon his face made her heart hum in a strange triumph.   
  
And he had still not let her go. Now, she would have to resort to drastic actions. Grinning wickedly at him, she reached out her free arm, and ran her fingers lightly down his side, tickling him. He jumped back, releasing her wrist. She laughed, splashed him again, and then, before he could do anything, dashed out of the shallow water as fast as she can, running towards their towels.   
  
About halfway there, he grabbed her again, this time around the waist. "You TICKLED me..." he growled, warm breath tickling her ear. She felt her heart race dizzily, but made her voice speak defiantly.   
  
"So what if I did?" she turned around in his arms, and looked at him challengingly, a slight pout to the pink lips. Her eyes widened a moment later, when she realized just...how...close...she was...to Percy, whose arms were warm and secure around her waist, whose face was inches away from her own, who had a grin playing at the corners of his lips. His lips were beautiful...   
  
She gulped, and he grinned down at her, "I'll have to do something, no?"   
  
"I-I guess..." she said tremulously. Something about her tone, about how she had dragged him from his bad mood and turned him into a giddy, light-hearted, silly boy, something about the way she looked and the way she felt in his arms made him bend his head down and seal his lips over hers. And to his surprise, the spit-and-polish-proper Inner Percy didn't made an atom of protest.   
  
Her lips opened under his own, and she wound her arms around his neck, languidly caressing his wet hair. Belatedly, he became aware that there were several wolf-whistles coming from the Muggles around them, who were quite enjoying the show.   
  
He pulled away, his face crimson.   
  
Hermione gave him a mock-reproachful look, "I guess I didn't succeed entirely yet."   
  
"What?"   
  
"You're still shy about shenanigans in public. We'll have to work on that." She winked saucily at him, and all thoughts of embarrassment somehow vanished from his brain.   
  
"You're an intelligent witch, Hermione Granger. Feel free to do what you think is best," he said in a deliberately proper voice. Hermione laughed, and did exactly that.   
  
He decided, much later on, that he loved the beach.   
  
~~~


End file.
